Saturday, June 21, 2014

ibyl 2K Subscriber Giveaway Contest

I recently reached 2,000+ subscribers on my Youtube channel. I am increasingly appreciative of all my subscribers. I am hosting this contest for my Youtube subscribers using Gleam. Check out the video below for more details.


Ibyl's 2K Subscriber Contest






Thursday, June 12, 2014

HOTD | The Swirl





Hair of the Day #1 | The Swirl

I was inspired by a style I saw Jada Pinkett wearing. My hair was too thick for that style so this is what resulted. Usually one style transforms into another. I think it turned out great and I wasn't even aiming to do it this way.

The swirl is three flat braids to the side and I swirled the braids on the side. I may post a video tutorial. If you're interested in the tutorial post a comment and let me know.

Tuesday, June 10, 2014

iTunes Tuesday #2




Welcome to the second segment of iTunes Tuesday. This is my current playlist in no specific order. Feel free to comment below and share your favorite artists and songs. I'm continuously looking for new artists to vibe to as well.


iTunes Tuesday #2

1. John Legend "All of Me

2. Michael Jackson "Love Never Felt So Good"

3. Justin Timberlake "Mirrors" 

4. Robin Thicke "For the Rest of My Life"
5. Can You Stand the Rain" Boy II Men (version)

6. Stacie Orrico "Easy to Love You" *This one still remains on my list


This playlist is connected to what I have been feeling and thinking lately. I choose a song for it's beat/instrumentals, lyrics, and relevance.

What are you currently playing?

Saturday, June 7, 2014

Update #1 | 30 While 30


Chiming in for my first update on my 30 while 30 list. 

NaPoWriMo2014
At the end of April I completed the #NaPoWriMo 2014 challenge. I actually pinned 30 poems... one for each day. There were some days I had to play catch up. Some of the poems I posted on the blog, typed on my phone, or simply wrote on paper. I enjoyed it! Most of my inspiration was love and how it is complex, long, wide, and still difficult to understand.

New Hairstyles
On my Youtube Channel I started posting loc style tutorials for new styles I have been trying. Check out the playlist from the link above.  Here are a few pictures from the styles that I have done so far.




New Recipes
I found a recipe on Rule of Yum's Youtube channel. It was for a gluten free banana bread. I have never made banana bread and I'm always looking for great gluten free recipes. I think this recipe was a good one. The only issue was that I only had two bananas and I should have adjusted the other ingredients. I also didn't like the bananas I used. I'm looking forward to making this recipe again. I used xanthan gum (it's expensive) for the first time and gluten free flour mix.


I found a recipe on the Yummly app that I have made twice since I discovered it. The recipe was for baked mayonnaise chicken. I also revamped a parmesan green beans recipe that I had done before. It was delicious. Here's a quick picture that still makes me salivate.



New Places
I have visited four new places. I ate at Capital Grille in Memphis TN. I think it opened within the last few months. I found out that there are several locations in different cities.  I enjoyed the atmosphere and I definitely loved what I ordered. It was hands down the best salmon I have ever had!



Every month my friends and I get together for a ladies in the the city and in May we had a grown up tea party. I absolutely loved the concept. The place is called the Thistle Shop. Not only did we get the tea party experience but the restaurant was birthed from a ministry that supports and provides for women who have been victims of abusive relationships. I took a few snapshots of the food and the setting. I enjoyed the experience. We were served fresh fruit and they even had gluten free muffins. My friends had the scones. We ordered tea and I got the Strawberry Sage. We all got something different so that we could sample each other's tea. They brought the tea out in little teapots and we poured it into our teacups. The main meal was chicken salad and fresh fruit. For dessert I had a gluten free chocolate chip cookie/brownie. It was yummy. Who says gluten free isn't tasty!




At work we went to a Sounds baseball game. I'm not too sure if this really counts. I only went to this new place because of work. I wasn't even paying attention to the game. Nonetheless it was a new place, but I'm not much of a baseball fan. 



Lastly, as an end of the wrap up we had a get together aT one of my colleague's condo. It was quite fun which made me wonder why we all hadn't hung out more outside of work during the year. But any who I had a great time and I tried Riesling for the first time. Since then I've been wanting Plum wine. I had some once some years ago and I still remember the taste. I need to find me some.



       


1. Essence Festival
2. Try sushi 4/12/14
3. Revive and Maintain a public blog
4. Photo shoot
5. Get a passport
6. Go zip lining
7. Go to a Heat game 3/24/14
8. 30 poems (NaPoWriMo2014) April/2014
9. Start Ira
10. Recite poem live
11. Start a P.O. Box
12. Try 30 new hairstyles (5 out of 30)
13. Travel to California
14. Host a dinner party
15. Travel to Miami 3/24/14
16. Try 30 new recipes  (2 of 30)
17. Make a scrapbook
18. Visit 30 new places w/in and outside of city (4 out of 30)
19. Spa day (massage/nails)
20. Donate $300 to a charity or non profit foundation
21. 10 random acts of kindness
22. Send 10 letters (friends and family)
23. Read at least 10 books
24. Complete a pinterest DIY project
25. Write 30 pages of my novel
26. Save $1,000
27. Gain X lb.
28. Learn to knit
29. Start crochet website
30. Volunteer 10 hours to... various service projects

#30While30

Check out the Pinterest board I created 30While30